my old ibook suddenly froze and I had to shut it down using the power switch.
when I try too start pressing power on button I get a sound like the fan whiring continuously and nothing!
AWhat can I Do zif anything at start up?
Help gratefully accepted
iBook G4 (14-inch), Mac OS X (10.4.11), 1.12GB; airport extreme
Hello,
Try resetting the PMU http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1431
This may help restarting your Ibook.
Best of luck
Hello
Thank you for your response and suggestion.
I think you are on the right track but the fault recurs. 5 minutes of working or typing the screen and curser freezes and no mouse or trackpad movement.
Is this something that can be fixed or repaired by an engineer or dealer?
Many thanks
Gordon
Hello,
Ah does it boot into Mac OS X and after a little while the screen freezes and possible screen goes blank?
This sounds to me like the start of the GPU issue. The GPU chip pins becomes unsoldered from the logic board due to heat. It's a common problem on these iBooks. Try applying pressure to the left side of your tracker pad when this happens. As you apply pressure the GPU Chip's pins reattach.
If it is this problem, then sadly there is no other fix than a replacement logic board.
Getting hold of a new logic board is going to be hard, since the iBooks have bee out of production since 2005.
You can get secondhand working logic board from some repair centers or DIY from eBay. (If you know what to do and where to look)
Other possibilities could be could be the hard drive.
I've known iBooks to freeze due to a problem with the hard drive, but normally the screen don't go blank if the hard drive has a fault. If it is the hard drive, you can go into disk utility either from the startup disk or within Mac OS X and repair the disk. (Go to Utilities and then disk utility) They may not have much effect if the drive is defective.
Hello again and thank you!
On 3 occasions I´ve reset and it starts up ok - warns me the clock is now out of date.
Then I can do a few trackpad or mouse moves and it freezes but the screen or window open stays there - doesn´t go blnk.
No loud whirring noises now.
1- If it´s GPU - I can relate to this - 4 years ago I dropped the machine and the screen became fuzzy and all windows were as if I was looking at a 3D movie without glasses! I literally dropped the computer from a height of 3 inches and it corrected itself. (4 years of borrowed time!) I was acting on advice that some ´balls´ near and underneath the trackpad had become separated from their soldered bedding. (or was I dreaming that?)
2. If hard drive - which disk should I use to start up? I have the original disks ie install 1,2 and 3. Or do I have to use some other?
I think a 10 year old ibook is about to become dead parrot. I think I have to reconcile myself to that. Anyway it is a tribute to Apple´s engineering that I have had 10 years high productivity out of it.
I´d appreciate any further thoughts or help with rebooting from disk but I´m aware you should be enjoying your Sunday!
Many thanks
Gordon
Hello again,
I agree with what you have written Gordon,
The only other thing I've come across before is a problem with the single RAM module installed.
I've known faulty memory cause freezing before. Replacement of memory would be a cheap enough to test.
I wouldn't out rule testing the hard drive via an install from the Startup disk.
Insert the startup disk 1 and hold down the C key during boot. (After the chime)
From the instal menu, sect utilities and then Disk Utility.
Select the hard drive and then options, just run disk repair.
If you was supplied with the Apple Hardware Test AHT disk then using this to help diagnose any fault would be a start.
This problem has to be hardware related, just finding which hardware device it is.
I guess if it was the Airport Card it would have a kernel panic.
If your iBook G4 has an Airport Card installed under the keyboard, try removal and booting without it.
Not saying its the problem, but worth ruling it out.
Ten years is a long time with our iBook.
I've had mine G4 for about ten years also. Been long redundant, but perfectly boxed and still works great.
Not sure I'd bother spending lots on it if it ever drastically broke down.
Hello again,
many thanks for your advice and time. I appreciate it very much.
Seems nothing I attempt now - hardware test, pressing thumb on casing, shouting, works. If it starts, it freezes almost immediately.
I´ll be buying the new MBA I think unless you have insider info about the next MBP you can tell us about? One local distributer in Mex City has dramatically reduced the price of everything so I´m guessing there could be price reductions in the new MBPs.
Thanks again
Gordon
Hello,
Good luck with your New MacBook Air,.
They are lovely machines and I'm sure will serve you just as well as your iBook.
computer froze and cant startup
